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P. GAU HAPE. PILL MACHINE.

Patented July 5, 1881.

wuuho n her, Washington. I10.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PIERRE OAUHAPE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PILL-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 243,848, datedv July 5, 1881.

Application filed October 21, 1878.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PIERRE OAUHAPE, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Pill-Machine; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in pill-machines of the class for which Letters Patent of the United States Nos. 110,630 and 152,641'were heretofore granted tome, and more especially relates to and provides for the coating of soft pills, or pills made from such soft mass that the pill-coatin g machines heretofore known would not only destroy the symmetry of the pill, but it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to perform the work with" them.

My invention consists, first, in a device for conveniently and rapidly adjusting and holdin g the pills in the proper position to be pierced by theneedles; second, in providing the needie-bar with adjustable clearer-plates for detaching the pills from the needles, and providin g shallow cavities in the face of said plates for the reception of a portion of the pills when being detached, as aforesaid; third, in so directin g by guides the operations of the needlebar in its relations with the platform that the needles shall penetrate the pills in a line perpendicularly to the centers of the cavities in the platform containing them; fourth, in the construction and use of the flexible fingers of the dipping-ton gs. Figure 1 is a plan of the platform, showing one row of pills held by the adjusting-plates and one row of cavities ready to receive the pills, said platform being broken away to show A the devices for operating the movable plates,

the needle-bar E, with a portion broken away, showing position of the needle when detached from the pill, also the upper bar and fingers of the dipping-tongs. Fig. 2 is a section of Fig. 1 on the line as x. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a stationary detaching-bar. Fig. 4 is a section of Fig. 3 on the line y y.

, Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

On a table or bench is fastened the platform A, in the top or face of which is sunk two lon gitudinal rows of spherical concavities,a. These cavities are formed at regular intervals in the rows, and are of a size adapted to the pills to be treated. On the top or face of this platform and between the two rows of cavities is secured the stationary plate B, extending longitudinally from end to end of the platform and transversely to the centerlines of the two rows of cavities, respectively. In both edges of this plate semicircular notches are cut coinciding with the cavities in the platform.

Moving transversely on the face of the platform in the ways D D toward and from the plate B are -the adjusting and holding plates 0 0, having semicircular notches formed in their inner edges corresponding to, and when the plates are in contact coinciding with, the notches in plate B, forming collars to adjust and hold the pills P in their proper position when subjected to the thrust of the needles, so that said needles will penetrate said pills in an axial or a radial line or direction. It is particularly desirable when oblong or spheroidal pills are treated that the needle should penetrate the pill along the line of its longer axis, and this device is intended to secure that result by so adjusting and firmly holding the pill that the line of its longer axis will coincide with the line of movement of the needle when piercing the pill. The plates 0 O are forced away from plate B, to allow of the insertion or the extraction of the pills, by the action of the springs Z l, and are brought into contact with plate B by means of the attached cords p p, which, passing over rollers a a and thence through holesin the platform and table, terminate in treadles actuated by the foot of the workman. These notches are enlarged at the upper portion or countersunk, to facilitate the distribution of the pills to the cavities in the platform.

The needle-bar, as shown, consists of two bars, E E, hinged together, each carrying a longitudinal row of needles, N; but this mode of construction is only employed when two rows of needles are desired to be used close together, and are so hinged that one row of needles may be turned up out of the way while the pills are being disengaged from the'other either by the clearer-plates F or F or by the detaching-bar S, and also to allow the dippingtongs G G to operate on one row of pills without disturbing the other row.

Where the hinge or folding device is dispensed with and two rows of needles are employed the bar should be of such width that the rows of needles may be placedthereon far enough apart to allow of the disengagement of the pills and their seizure by the tongs. The needles N are so set along the bar that when the guide-pins ff, secured to the platform, are inserted into the perforations d d of the bar and said bar forced down evenly toward the platform, said needles will penetrate the pills in a line perpendicularly to the centers of thecavities at containing them, the employment of the guides f f obviating the necessity of skill in the workman, securin g greater rapidity in the operation, and preventing the many mishaps that frequently occur to both the pills and the needles through carelessness or want of skill in the operator.

Secured to each of the needle-bars by the guide-pins e c, and directed by said pins, are the clearer-plates F F, having small perforations adapted to admit of the passage of the needles. Shallow cavities R are formed in the face of the plates, having the perforations as centers, to preserve the rotundity of that portion of the pill which comes in contact with the plate while being detached from the needles.

WVithin convenient'reach of the operator are the standards J J, so situated that they may be used to engage and hold the clearer-plate while the needle-bar is pulled backward, and the needles thus drawn out of the pills. The plate, when released from the standards, is returned to its position near the bar by the springs o 22.

The clearer-plate guide-pins e eare provided with heads or stops to prevent the plate being drawn clear of the needles.

Small screws h h are set in the platform to receive in contact the heads of the clearerplate guide-pins c 6 when the needles are thrust into the pills. By raising or lowering said screws the depth to which it is desired the needles shall penetrate the pills isregulated.

The jointed dipping-tongs consists of two bars, G G, hinged together at the back, each carrying a row of fingers, g g, constructed of a flexible or pliable material, such as leather or pliable vulcanized rubber, so secured to said bars that the opposing fingers may be operated to close on and retain the pills when released from the needles by the frictional resistance of the soft or pliable material in contact with them, and not depend for their retention upon a biting or pinching gripe.

I do not confine myself to the use of the adjustable clearer-plates F F for detaching the pills from the needles, as I can, instead of said plates, use the detaching -bar S. (Shown at Figs. 3 and 4.) The two parts forming this bar are so hinged together that when sepa' rated, as shown in Fig. 4, tl1e pills previously secured on the needles may be passed through between them, and are provided with transverse grooves coinciding, so as to closely surround the respective needles when the two parts are brought in contact.

Shallow cavities R, like those in the clearerplates F F, are formed in the front of the bar, having the centers of the grooves ascenters to receive that portion of the pill in contact with the bar when the needle-bar is drawn back to detach the pills from the needles, thereby preventing the flattening or malformation of the pill. A small pin, T, fixed on the lower half of the bar and fitting tightly into a recess in the other prevents the parts from being accidentally separated during the operation of detaching the pills from the needles. The bar is secured to the table or bench by pins or screws.

The operation is as follows: The pills are distributed to the cavities (t in the platform A by any convenient means. The treadles are then pressed down with the foot, drawing the cords p 1) over the rollers a n, and forcing the plates 0 0 toward and against the plate B, the notches adjusting the pills to their proper positionand holding them there. The needlebar E E is then brought down over the platform, the guide-pinsff entering the holes d d, formed in the ends of the bars E E, the bar forced down toward the platform, causing the needles to penetrate the pills in a line perpen ICIO dicularly to the centers of the cavities (1, until stopped by the contact of the heads of the clearer-plate guide pins e c with the top of the regulating-screws h h in the platform. The treadles are then released from the pressure of the foot, the plates 0 0 moved back and separated from plate B by the action of the springs l l, freeing the 'pills from the confinement of the notches. The bar E E, with its pill-laden needles, is then lifted clear of the guide-pins f f, and the pills dipped in thecoat ing-solution, the springs o e retaining the clearer-plate near the needle-bar and away from the dipping solution during the dipping operation. A number of these needle-bars are used in connection with one platform in order to allow the coating-solution to dry before the pills are subjected to the second operation. When the coating above mentioned is sufficiently dry or set the needle-bar is again taken in hand, the clearer-plate F engaged with the standards J J, the bar E drawn back, conveying the pills into the cavities R in the clearer-plate, and while in that position with drawing the needles from said pills and within the perforations in the clearer-plate. (The clearer-plate, on being released from the stand ards J J, automatically returns to itsposition near the needle-bar E, being actuated thereto by the springs 12 'v.) Simultaneously with the above operation, and while the pills are in contact with the clearer-plateand before the needles are withdrawn from them, the flexible fingers of the dipping-tongs are presented to receive and hold the pills,when they are again dipped while so held between the fingers of said tongs, and any portion left uncoated by the first operation is covered, and the holes left by the needles closed. Then the pills still held between the fingers of said tongs are either presented to a blast of dry air or the pill-laden tongs set at one side until the coating is perfectly dry.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination of the platform A, containing cavities a, the fixed plate B, provided with semicircular notches on its edges corresponding with the cavities a in the platform A, the adjustable plates 0 0, provided on their inner edges with notches coinciding with the notches in the plate B, so that when said adjustable plates are moved laterally over the face of the platform near to or against plate 13 the coinciding notches on the fixed and movable plates, respectively, will operate to so adjust and firmly hold the pill, whether spherical or spheroidal, that the penetration of the needles therein will be in a radial or an axial direction, the needle-bar E, and needles N, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The ncedle-bar E, needles N, clearer-plate F, clearer-plate guide-pins e e, springs 22 2;, platform A, .fixed plate B, and adjustable plates 0 G, all combined substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The needle-bar E, needles N, clearer-plate F, guide-pins e e, springs v v, and standards J J, all combined substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. In combination, the hinged bars G G and the flexible fingers g g, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. In combination, the needle-bar E, clearerplate F, and hinged bars G G, carrying the flexible fingers g g, substantially as specified.

' P. OAUHAPE.

Witnesses THOMAS VAN ANTWERP, E. MARTLING. 

